Seven political groups have now been recognised as fulfilling the necessary criteria and will be starting their work at next week’s plenary session in Strasbourg where Parliament’s top posts will be decided by MEPs. Parliament rules foresee that political groups should have at least 25 MEPs from seven different member states. Read on to find out more about the political groups and their leaders.

Europe’s economy could be boosted by €800 billion – equivalent to 6% of current GDP – if more action is undertaken at EU level, according to a study by the European Parliament. Creating a digital single market alone would generate an additional €260 billion, more than Denmark’s estimated GDP for 2014. The study looked at the cumulative efficiency gains of a series of policy actions at the European level to help set priorities for how the EU should invest its money the coming five years.